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These Caramel Vanilla Cake Bars are made of a perfectly fluffy and tender vanilla base, filled and topped with a not-too-sweet caramel that’s soft enough to bite and yet firm enough not to run off the cake. Finished with a delightful cream cheese frosting and a nice swirl of even more caramel.
The frosting and caramel make the cake rich, but by combining it with the light vanilla cake, it doesn’t taste as heavy and is a perfect fit. For all of you who love vanilla, caramel, and cream cheese, this cake is absolute awesomeness.
Tools & Equipment
- 23cm / 9-inch square baking pan
- Digital thermometer
- Liquid measuring cup
- Medium bowl
- Medium saucepan
- Offset spatula
- Parchment paper
- Silicone spatula
- Skewer
- Stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment
- Wire rack
- Wooden spoon
Recipe Tips
Make Ahead: start by making the vanilla cake. Poke holes in the entire cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. Then make the caramel and spread it all over the cake while still warm. Let the cake cool completely at room temperature, preferably overnight. Save some of the caramel to drizzle on top of the frosting the next day.
Digital Thermometer: I prefer to use a thermometer, because then you know exactly when the caramel is done. In case you don’t have a digital thermometer, have a cup of ice cold water handy. Once the mixture is thick and caramel colored, add a teaspoon of it to the cold water. Let it cool for a couple of seconds and then feel it. The caramel should be soft, but not runny. If it is not, let it cook for a few more minutes. Test again.
Frosting: the cream cheese frosting works very well with the vanilla cake and the caramel, but if you are not a big fan of cream cheese you can skip it. Instead you can make a ganache of dark, bitter-sweet or milk chocolate and spread it over the cake.
Ingredients For This Recipe
Step By Step Guide – How To Make Caramel Vanilla Cake Bars
Make the Vanilla Cake
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F and line a 23cm / 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
Beat butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed for about 1 minute after each addition. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute, then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Combine vanilla extract and milk. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.Add the dry ingredients to the batter along with the milk and mix on low speed until the batter comes together.
Pour the batter into the pan, spread evenly and bake for 25-35 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and poke holes into the warm cake, about 2, 5cm / 1-inch apart.
Make the Caramel Filling
Combine the heavy cream, brown sugar, light corn syrup and salt and place the saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and everything is well incorporated. The mixture will look pale and watery at first.
If the mixture does not boil well, increase the heat to medium-high. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until it thickens and turns into an amber caramel color. It it done when the thermometer registers 110-112°C / 230°F-234°F.Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla briefly. Let the caramel cool for about 5 minutes.
Spread almost all of the caramel over the cake. Save some of the caramel for later (about 50g). Let the cake cool completely at room temperature, for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Make the Frosting
In the bowl of a stand mixer beat cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth. On low speed, add the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until everything is combined. Switch the mixer back to medium speed and beat until smooth and creamy.
Once the cake is cold, spread the cream cheese frosting on top of the cake and smooth it out with an offset spatula. Add the rest of the caramel and drizzle it over the frosting.
Swirl the caramel with a skewer and chill the cake in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan by lifting up the parchment paper and slice it into squares or rectangles.
Storage: store these bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week. You can freeze them, well wrapped in plastic, for up to 3 months.
My Summary For Caramel Vanilla Cake Bars
Difficulty: simple.
Taste: these bars taste buttery and sweet, with a nice flavor of vanilla and caramel.
Texture: the vanilla cake base is very tender and fluffy. The cream cheese frosting is pretty creamy and the caramel melts in your mouth.
TIME: it takes about 90 minutes to make the vanilla cake and the caramel. Then the cake needs to cool completely, so I make the cake and the caramel the night before. For the frosting and chilling in the fridge afterwards, expect another 45 minutes. The preparation time for the entire cake is about 2 hours.
More “Cream Cheese” & “Caramel” Recipes
- Burnt Sugar Cake
- Carrot Cake
- Matcha Green Tea Caramels
- Peach Swirl Cheesecake Bars
- Pumpkin Marble Cake
Caramel Vanilla Cake Bars
Serves: 9 Prep Time: Cooking Time:
Nutrition facts:200 calories20 grams fat
Rating: 4.8/5
( 4 voted )
Pin
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Cake
- 125g butter, at room temperature
- 175g granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 250g all-purpose flour (405)
- 3g baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 120ml whole milk
- 5g vanilla extract
For the Caramel Filling
- 480g heavy cream
- 200g light brown sugar
- 40g light corn syrup
- 1g salt
- 5g vanilla extract
For the Frosting
- 155g cream cheese, at room temperature
- 80g butter, at room temperature
- 6g vanilla extract
- 250g powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
For the Vanilla Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Line a 23cm / 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Leave an overhang on the sides and set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula if necessary.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed for about 1 minute after each addition. After the last egg is incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute, then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Combine the vanilla extract and milk in a liquid measuring cup.
- In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the batter along with the vanilla milk and mix on low speed until the batter comes together.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with a silicone spatula.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes on the middle rack. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake.
- Remove the cake from the oven. Use the back of a wooden spoon to immediately poke holes in the top of the warm cake, about 2, 5cm / 1-inch apart.
For the Caramel Filling
- In a medium saucepan combine the heavy cream, brown sugar, light corn syrup and salt.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula or a wooden spoon, until the sugar has dissolved and everything is well incorporated. The mixture will look very pale and watery at first, so don't be alarmed.
- Attach a digital thermometer to the saucepan, make sure it does not touch the bottom.If the mixture does not boil well, increase the heat to medium-high. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until it thickens and turns into an amber caramel color. It it done when the thermometer registers 110-112°C / 230°F-234°F, after about 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla briefly. Then stop stirring, because the less you handle the caramel after it's cooked, the better.
- Let the caramel cool for about 5 minutes.
- Spread almost all of the caramel over the cake. It is important to keep the caramel warm this way it is still pourable, but not so hot that it is too runny. Save some of the caramel for later (about 50g).
- Let the cake cool completely at room temperature, for at least 3 hours preferably overnight.
For the Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth, for about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- On low speed, add the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until everything is well combined.
- Switch the mixer back to medium speed and beat for 1-2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, spread the cream cheese frosting on top of the cake and smooth it out with an offset spatula.
- Swirl the remaining caramel with a skewer into the frosting.
- Chill the cake in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the pan by lifting up the parchment paper and slice into squares or rectangles.
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